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The community of YouTube channels making videos about science is thriving and growing at a rapid pace. While that’s great, as videos are a fantastic way to learn about science, in general most of the channels focus on topics like astronomy, physics, chemistry, and more. But earth science, in particular biology, is a topic that is very under-represented when it comes to YouTube videos. I know of only a couple popular and high-quality channels that focus on the topic, including thebrainscoop, a great channel run and hosted by Emily Graslie, and today’s channel showcase, MinuteEarth.
As the name suggests, MinuteEarth focuses on topics relating to the Earth, biology, and more. The channel is a spin-off of the very successful physics/science channel MinutePhysics, both MinuteEarth and MinutePhysics being run and hosted by creator Henry Reich. With over 1.3 million subscribers, MinuteEarth was quick to make a name for itself, uploading interesting and informative videos on the topic of anything and everything to do with the Earth and how it works. While MinutePhysics helped make the timelapse drawing style of educational video popular, MinuteEarth isn’t animated in the same style, instead animated using stick figures draw on a computer and animated in post. Personally, I like the style better; it’s cleaner, smoother, and the drawings are typically more aesthetically pleasing.
But above all else, their videos are just as, if not more, interesting that those of MinutePhysics. The featured video above is an example of one of MinuteEarth’s most popular videos, titled “Why Do Rivers Curve?“. The video answers that question, talking about how the slightest change in a river’s bed can result in the curving path we see so often. It’s a fascinating video, explaining something that I never really thought to have explained to me but am now glad I did have it explained. With over 2 million views, the video above is a great example of the type of interesting topics MinuteEarth videos are on, as well as the excellent animation and content.
Altogether, MinuteEarth is a great channel to watch in order to learn more about the world around you. While channels like Vsauce, Veritasium, and even MinutePhysics are all great channels, they don’t cover topics like why is all sand the same and why we have more girls than boys, both topics MinuteEarth has covered in the past. The Earth is an incredibly complex thing, and MinuteEarth is one of the best channels I know to help you understand more about how it works.